Get London reading: Join The Standard's campaign to tackle illiteracy

The London Evening Standard today launches an unprecedented campaign to Get London Reading - and we want you to help.

We are appealing for volunteers to go into schools and support children who are struggling to read. We are also appealing for the money to pay for those volunteers.

Last week we told how one in three children does not own a book and how one million working adults cannot read. This is a betrayal of our children - and of this great city.

To tackle the blight of illiteracy, we are joining forces with a unique charity, Volunteer Reading Help, which is already transforming the lives of hundreds of children.

The charity does extraordinary work, training ordinary adults to mentor school pupils who struggle to read or write. More than nine out of 10 of the children they help make vast improvements. But they need new volunteers and the money to pay for them.

Today we are making an appeal for donations to fund an army of new volunteers, and for people who want to become volunteers themselves.